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marketers that want to push their content will not add too much distracting material.

However, if they want to sell a product, they know that it takes about 4 return hits for someone to feel comfortable enough to buy something. They make their site very nice and "flashy" so that one will be likely to return soon...and eventually buy something.

A lot of companies have entrenched positions in their markets or have products that can't be sold over the net. Pepsi would do well by having a flashy site. Their name is known and the website is an added bonus. Believe it or not, there are some products that can't be sold over the internet or aren't available for delivery in all locations (kozmo.com or pinkdot.com). Some products don't lend to content oriented sites as well. How much content besides general company information can a Soft Drink company put out especially when their products are made from recipes that are closely guarded trade-secrets? They don't care if you visit their website 1 time or 100, they care that you buy their product the next time you stop for gas or doing the weekly grocery shopping.

A company that spends several billion dollars a year on broadcast and print advertising is also going to spend some of that on a flashy website.